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Thread: Another Just Curious . . . .

  1. #1
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    Another Just Curious . . . .

    Do any of you have your table saw blades sharpened? I have a Forrest blade and it has never had any issues.
    It is a Woodworker II.

  2. #2
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    Dec 2004
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    Yes! Many times for my blades. They do get dull with use, especially with more abrasive woods. When the tear out becomes unacceptable, it is time to take them back to the sharpener. I also have the WW II. As a general purpose blade, it is still performing well enough but may need a touch up soon.
    Rustic? Well, no. That was not my intention!

  3. #3
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    I use all full thickness, carbide toothed blades and all have been sharpened over the years, some several times. I also have the WW II and it is the only one I send back to Forrest for sharpening. The rest all go to Ballew Saw and Tool in Missouri somewhere. Ballew has also replaced a couple of broken and/or chipped carbide teeth over the years as required. I use Freud and Systematic blades and have no interest in starting up a "what is the best blade" thread but do say they have all performed just the same as new after sharpening.
    Last edited by David Eisenhauer; 11-12-2018 at 11:04 AM.
    David

  4. #4
    I send mine out for sharpening, probably not as often as I should. There are some good local places, so I don't need to worry about shipping.

    I have a pair of Forrest WWII 40 tooth blades so I always have one available if I need to send one out. I normally use the Forrest for everything except for rough ripping, then I have a thin kerf Irwin rip blade I break out. I do have a couple finer tooth Freuds for certain operations and various other blades in case the wood may have foreign objects in it.

  5. #5
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    Oct 2005
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    I have a stack of Delta/Dewalt7657 blades. I wait until the stack gets dull then I send them out to get sharpened. They are like $25 on ebay so they are almost throw away. I have a WWII laying around somewhere.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
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    Center Valley, PA USA
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    I use Forrest Woodworker blades (rip, crosscut and combo) on my table saw. I send them back to Forrest for resharpening as needed.

  7. #7
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    I only get the ones I use sharped.
    Aj

  8. #8
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    Jun 2012
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    New Westminster BC
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    For those that have their blades sharpened, what do you consider the best way to tell that it's time to sharpen?

  9. #9
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    My WW-II blades have been sharpened multiple times and because Forrest is quite generous with the carbide, there are a few more sharpening sessions possible, too. Even a part time woodworker should consider sharpening at some reasonable interval because it truly brings the blade back to new or better cutting performance. We sometimes don't notice the very slow decrease in cut quality like someone who's cutting full time day-in-day-out might if our use is occasional, but the degradation is real. I'm actually about to send out my 12" WW-II for sharpening as soon as I acquire a second one. (planning on selling the two 10" blades so someone can keep on using them)
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  10. #10
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    Oct 2007
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    Quote Originally Posted by Doug Garson View Post
    For those that have their blades sharpened, what do you consider the best way to tell that it's time to sharpen?
    It seems like my blades get chipped teeth before they get dull. Whenever I know I hit something or the cut quality seems to be falling off I'll clean the blade (usually with either Simple Green or oven cleaner, but this isn't a blade cleaning thread) and then closely examine the teeth. If they are chipped, it goes on the stack and when I have two or three blades, I take them to a tool place in town that sends them to Salt Lake to a specialty carbide shop. Two weeks later they're back, usually for under $20 each. I just had two 12" 60-80 tooth crosscut blades sharpened. One was $18, the other was $20 because they had to replace two teeth.

    A lot of times when a blade seems dull it's just dirty. Clean it up and take a close look at the teeth. If they are sharp, with good points and no chips, you should be good to go.

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Doug Garson View Post
    For those that have their blades sharpened, what do you consider the best way to tell that it's time to sharpen?
    I was using my friends 5hp cabinet saw cutting 4/4 hard maple and I was bogging it down. There was burning on the cut edges. I was trying to make some 1-1/2"strips of 3/4" Baltic birch plywood into 1/2" thick. It was smoking so bad I had to leave the garage to get fresh air. Either his blade is dull or it needs to be cleaned. I will clean it next I am out there. If it does it again then it needs sharpening.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by David Eisenhauer View Post
    I use all full thickness, carbide toothed blades and all have been sharpened over the years, some several times. I also have the WW II and it is the only one I send back to Forrest for sharpening. The rest all go to Ballew Saw and Tool in Missouri somewhere. Ballew has also replaced a couple of broken and/or chipped carbide teeth over the years as required. I use Freud and Systematic blades and have no interest in starting up a "what is the best blade" thread but do say they have all performed just the same as new after sharpening.
    My favorite rip blade is a Systematic I've had for more than twenty years. It stays sharp longer than any other blades I have had and still has a number of sharpenings left in it. I fortunately have a local saw shop that I have been using for forty years, both for buying blades and sharpening. Wouldn't want to send blades out for sharpening.
    Bracken's Pond Woodworks[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

  13. #13
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    It will come to me somehow that "this blade has been on this saw for a while now", I feel the teeth with my fingers. I then feel the teeth on a blade that is sharp and compare my purely subjective feeling about sharpness between the two blades. Usually the one in question gets sent out. I do have two blades available for leaving on the TS for general use, so I am not in a bind when I send one out. They get rotated that way and will last me forever as long as I don't hit something serious. I do keep a stain grade plywood blade for that use only, plus a 24t rip blade for dedicated ripping sessions. I only have one of those each, so I plan when they get sent out. My mail-in sharpening service usually does a quick turn around.
    David

  14. #14
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    Feb 2013
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    Duvall, WA
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    I have a Forrest WWII that's due for its first sharpening. I just need to clean it up a bit and then package it for mailing.

    I'm going with the factory sharpening while its still available and will see how that works out--quality versus cost and time.

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cary Falk View Post
    I was using my friends 5hp cabinet saw cutting 4/4 hard maple and I was bogging it down. There was burning on the cut edges. I was trying to make some 1-1/2"strips of 3/4" Baltic birch plywood into 1/2" thick. It was smoking so bad I had to leave the garage to get fresh air. Either his blade is dull or it needs to be cleaned. I will clean it next I am out there. If it does it again then it needs sharpening.
    If only it was always that obvious. My suspicion is that the blade becomes dull very gradually and it could be overdue for sharpening well before I notice it's time. That's why I was hoping for some tips on how to determine when.

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